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Effects of Getting Married on Offending

Results from a Prospective Longitudinal Survey of Males

Institute of Criminology, Cambridge, UK, dt323{at}cam.ac.uk

David P. Farrington

Institute of Criminology, Cambridge, UK, dpf1{at}cam.ac.uk

In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, 411 males were followed up from age 8 to age 48. This analysis of the effects of marriage on offending is based on 162 convicted males. The age of marriage was stratified into early (18—21 years), mid-range (22—24 years), and late (25 years or later). Risk factors at age 8—10 were used to calculate propensity scores that predicted the likelihood of getting married. Convictions before and after the age of first marriage were investigated for married males and for unmarried males who were matched on the number of convictions before marriage and on the propensity score. The results showed that getting married was followed by a reduction in offending but only for early (age 18—21) and mid-range (age 22—24) marriages. The analysis was replicated using risk factors at age 18, with the same results.

Key Words: Desistance • Marriage • Offending • Propensity Score • Prospective Longitudinal Survey.

European Journal of Criminology, Vol. 6, No. 6, 496-516 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1477370809341226


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